Ladder platform



' April 29, 1947.

LADDER PLATFORM E. J. PICONE 2,419,727

Filed Sept. 10, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 (7220023532 dw d Pl cone MZZJ 057202 3196.-

A ril 29, 1947.

f I LADDE IR PLATFORM Filed Sept. 10, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jail/@2230? & Edward LI Pfcone MMJWMJ" efiiforz ee /a E. J. PICONE 2,419,727

Patented Apr. 29, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LADDER PLATFORM Edward J. Picone, Arlington, Mass.

Application September 10, 1945, Serial No. 615,400

3 Claims.

This invention relates to ladder platforms of the'type which include a platform member adapted to rest on a rungof aladder and a suspender element which is pivotedly connected to the inner .end of the platform member and is adapted to be supported from a rung of the ladder above that on which the platform member rests.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide improvements in ladder platforms of this type by which the platform member will be held in firm engagement with the rung on which it is supported even though the person using the platform applies his weight to one edge thereof, or to one of the inner corners thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide improvements in ladder platforms according to which the platform member will still remain supported by the rung on which it rests even though the suspender member becomes accidentally disengaged from the rung by which it is supported.

-In-"ladder platforms of this type the suspender membermay have at its upper end a hook portion to hook over the rung by which it is supported and another object of my invention is to provide a novel guard member for the hook portion of the suspender which automatically assumes an operative position closing the hook portion and thus locking the suspender member to the rung by which it is supported, which guard member can be easily shifted into an inoperative position to permit the hook to be disengaged from the rung.

In order to give an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the drawings some selected embodiments thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a section of a ladder having my improved ladder platform applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to that shown in Figs. 3 and 4 but showing a still different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view showing the manner in which the platform member is retained on its supporting rung.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the improved guard member.

In the drawings l indicates a ladder provided with the usual rungs 2.

My improved ladder platform comprises a platform member 3 adapted to rest on one of the rungs 2 and a suspender element 4 pivotedly connected to the platform element at the inner end thereof as shown at l3, and having at its upper end a hook portion 14 adapted to be hooked over a rung 2 above that on which the platform memher is supported.

The platform member may be made of any suitable material but I will preferably make it from sheet metal. The edges 5 of the platform are shown as being bent downwardly to form strengthening flanges and at the outer end of the platform these strengthening flanges 5 are widened as shown at 6 and each widenedportion of each flange is provided with a rung-receiving somewhat greater than the width of the threat 8, the portion 6 of each flange will be provided with two guard portions 9 and H] which are important factors in holding the platform member on the rung as will be presently described.

The upper wall ll of the recess 1 inclines upwardly slightly from the outer end of the recess. When the platform is applied to the ladder as shown in Fig, 2, the suspender member 4 will be situated at an inclination and this will apply to the platform a force tending to move it to the left or outwardly. As a result when the. platform is installed on the ladder, the rung 2 on which the platform restswill be located in the high portion l2 of the recess 1 as shown in Figs. 2 and 7, and the guard portion [0 of the flange 6 will thus extend around underneath the rung. This is an important feature in providing a secure hold of the platform member on the rung. The suspender element 4 is connected to the central portion of the platform at its inner end, and hence if the person using the platform should apply his weight to one of the inner corners of the platform, there would be a tendency for the platform to tip. With my improvements, however, under such conditions, the guard portion IU of the flange 6 will engage the underside of the rung on which the platformis supported and will thus prevent pender backwardly then upwardly, forwardly and" downwardly to form an arcuate shaped hook.

having a downwardly-opening throat,

The hook M has associated therewith a guard member which is constructed to move 'bygravity from an open-throat position to a closed-throat position, so that when the ladder platform is in use as shown in Fig. 2 the guard member automatically gravitates into its operative closed position,

,The guard member is formed witha body portion I 6 which is arcuately curved to fit the curvature of the hook l4, and in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, said guard member is mounted on the outside of the hook [4 adjacent the point thereof.

Said guard member I6 is retained in position by means of a. guiding loop or strap 11 which is secured to the point portion of the hook on the outside thereof, and which forms between itself and the point of the hook a passageway through which the body of the guard member l6 may slide.

The ends l8 and I9 of the guard member are bent to form stop flanges which by their cooperation with the guide 11 serve to limit the sliding movement of the guard.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the guard is a gravity-actuated element, it being constructed so that when the hook member 14 is applied to a rung 2 the guard member will move by gravity into its lower, or operative, position shown in'Fig. 3 in which position the lower end of theguard member extends partially across and therefore partially closes the throat of the hook [4. At this time the upper stop flange [9 of the guard member will rest against the upper side of the guide ll.

When the guard member is in. its operative position as shown in Fig. 3, the lower end thereof serves to lock the hook member 14 on to the rung 2 thereby preventing the suspender 4 from being disconnected from the rung.

If, during use, the person using the ladder platform should step on the outer edge of the platform, there would be a tendency toturn the platform counterclockwise in Fig. 2 thereby tending to move the. suspender 4 upwardly. Any such movement of the suspender, however, would bring the lower end of the guard member into engagement with the underside of the rung 2 and the pressure thus applied to the guard member would hold it in its operative position and thus prevent the hook portion H! from being disengaged from the rung.

When it is desired to effect a.;disengagement.

of the suspender element from the rung; the person using the device may. simply apply pressure to the flange 19 of the guard member thus moving it clockwise about the hook l4 and thereby opening the throat of the hook to allow it to be disengaged from the rung.

The guard member shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 8 is a. gravity-actuated element, that is, it is con.- structed so that when the hook member has been 4 applied to a rung and .the guard member has been released, the latter will'gravitate from its open to its closed position without any attention on the part of the person using the platform.

If desired, I may employ a spring which operates to assist the gravity-induced movement of the guard member, and in Fig. 4 I have illustrated a. construction operating in this way. In the device shown in Fig. 4, the hook portion M has a housin -20 mounted thereon in which is located a spring 2! that acts against a thrust pin 22. This thrust pin extends through the wall 23 of the housing and is provided at its inner end with ahead 24 with which the spring 2! has engagement. The construction is such that when the guard member I 5 is moved into its full, open, or

inoperative position, the stop flange [9 of the guard member will engage the pin 22 and force it backwardly thereby compressing the spring 2|. When the guard member is released, however, the expansion of the spring 2| will operate through the pin 22 to give the guard member an initial forward movement. The guard member will then continue to move by gravity into its fully operative position shown in full lines Fig. 4. The advantage of the spring construction shown in Fig. 4 is that the spring will initiate the gravity-induced movement of the guard member thereby insuring that said guard member will always move into its omrative position as soon as it is released.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a different embodiment of the invention wherein the guard member which is indicated at l5a is located on the inside of the-hook portion Ma of the suspender 4. The guard member has the curved body portion to fit the rung 2 and is provided with two studs 25 which extend through slots. 26 with which the hook portion 14 of the suspender is provided, each stud having at its outer ,end a head 21 overlying the outer face of the hook portion. The heads 2'! of the stud are shown as connected by a bar 28 which is acted on by a spring 29, said spring being confined between the bar 28 and a lug 38 rising from the back of the. hook portion Ma. This lug 30 is shown as hav ing a curved guide rod 3| secured thereto which:

extends through the coil spring 29 and the outer end of which extends through an opening 32 which the bar 28 is provided.

When the guard member I5a is moved' into its open or inoperative position as shownby dotted lines Fig. 5, the studs 25 will be carried through the slots 26 and the corresponding backward movement of the bar 28 will compress the spring 29. When the guard member is released, the. expansion of the spring 29 will move it into its op-p erative position shown in full lines Figs. 5 and 6 thereby partially closing-the open throat of. the hook and locking the ladder to the rung;

In the device shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the action.

of gravity on the guard member l5a will augment the action of the spring in moving said guard member from its open to its closed position.

I claim:

1. Bung-engaging means for a ladder platform, comprising an upwardly extending suspender element by which one end of the platform is supported, the upper end portion of said suspender element being bent backwardlythen upwardly, forwardly and downwardly to form an arcuate rung-engaging hook portion having a. downwardly-opening throat, and a guard member having a body portion which is also arcuate-shaped and which conforms in shape to, that of .the hook portion, said guard member being slidable by with gra'vity over the free end portion of the hook from an open-hook position towards the suspender element to close the throat. a

-' 2. Bung-engagin means for aladderplatfo'sn 1 comprising an upwardly-extending suspen or element having its upper end portion bent backwardly then upwardly, forwardly and downwardly, to form an arcuate rung-engaging hook having a downwardly opening throat, a guard member having a body portion which is also arcuateshaped and which conforms in shape to that of the hook, said guard member being mounted on the outside of the hook and slidable by gravity over the free end portion of the hook from an open-hook position towards the suspender ele ment to close said throat, and a guide member on the exterior of the hook adjacent to its point but spaced therefrom to form a passage through which the guard slides in opening and closing the throat of the hook, the ends of the guard memher being bent to provide stop portions to limit 7 the opening and closing movement thereof;

3. Bung-engaging means for a ladder platform comprising an upwardly-extending suspender element by which one end of the platform is supported, theupper end portion of said'sus-' pender element being bent backwardly then upwardly, forwardly and downwardly to form an arcuate rung-engaging hook portion having a downwardly-opening throat,. a guard member having a body portion which is also arcuate- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,104,987 Harding Jan. 11, 1938 2,091,093 Buccicone et al Aug. 24, 1937 2,222,053 Waller Nov. 19, 1940 1,760,803 Wirth May 27, 1930 2,067,188 Hennessy Jan. 12, 1937 1,084,034

Roberts Jan, 13, 1914 

